When I wasn't looking. . .

. . . I somehow made knitting progress. I measured/tried on recently some current projects, and to my shock and awe, I realized that I have made serious progress.



Pomotomus socks: only an inch or so til the toe decreases (of sock 2).



Twisted Tweed: only an inch or two til the toe decreases (of sock 1).



Sweetie's hoodie: only three inches to the neck shaping.



How did this happen? I mean, I know that I HAD been working on these three projects. A row here, a few stitches there. I find that I can't knit with the little guy is around and awake, because he has a little too much interest in what Mommy is doing, so all of my knitting the past couple months has been sporadic and on the sly. So you can imagine my surprise and delight. I may even have some finished projects to show off soon.



And about time. At the last sock club meeting, someone observed that I was knitting Pomotomus, and asked if I had started another pair. Um, no, this is the same pair. . . that I have been working on for three years. This person doesn't have children, btw.



I may have some serious knitting time coming. My sweetie and the little guy are flying to Calif. Some frequent flyer miles were about to expire (thanks mom!), so we are taking a little trip to see sights, and visit friends and family. My sweetie expressed surprise that I was planning to bring knitting on the plane. "When are you going to be able to knit, with watching the little man?" he says. Ok, the second leg of the flight is after the little guy's bedtime, and there is always a CHANCE that he will sleep a little. Plus, there are car rides when I may not be driving. I am not going away for a week and leaving the knitting at home, and that is that. Men, they just don't understand security knitting. What if he little guy is worn out and sleeps the whole flight? A mom can dream, can't she?



Today, it is all about the cautious anticipation.

In my next two years

Happy Blogaversary! Today marks my two years since I started this blog. Has it really been that long? As I look back on the last two years, I am struck by something depressing: how many things were in progress this time two years ago that are STILL in progress.

1. Jaywalker Socks: 75% finished. Not in love with the yarn, and the pattern is a bit stiff, so not anxious to wear them.

2. Pomotomus: 75% finished. Like the colors. Like the yarn. Love the pattern. I am befuddled. I HAVE been working on lot on this one, and hope to have it finished soon. ("Soon" being a relative term for me.)

3. Turquoise sweater: only needs sleeves. It probably doesn't even fit me anymore.

4. First Lace: Around 60% finished. Technically, I started this one at the end of March, but that is close enough to count. Love the colors. Like the yarn. Love the pattern. This was intended to be a, ahem, first lace teaching project, and now that I learned how to do it, I am strangely uninspired to finish, even though I still love it.

I guess all of this proves that I am a faithless project slut.

Today, it is all about the two years.

Finished Object!

It just isn't knitted. My sweetie finished the bathroom floor. The ceramic tile looks lovely, and we will have plenty to do the other bathroom, with a few boxes of tile to spare. Sure is cold on the feet during the Indiana winters!

My sweetie went to his mother's hosue Saturday afternoon, to tinker on her computer a bit, and took the baby with him. I had my choice of going along as well, or enjoying a baby-free afternoon. Guess which option I chose? I am so infrequently without the baby for any length of time, except at work. I went to sock club, played on the computer, and knit quietly on the living room sofa. It was wonderful.

I was knitting an oldie but a goodie. Pomotomus. In the last several days, I have finished the leg, turned the heel, and am halfway through decreasing the gussets. I am passed the halfway mark on the second sock, and it is all downhill from here. I felt a little embarassed when it was mentioned at sock club how long I have been working on these socks. Um, over two years now. Sheepish blush. Keep walking, nothing to see here.

I guess my feet are cold in more ways than one these days.

Today, it is all about the frigid feet.

Pomotomus Revisited

I did a little work on Pomotomus at Sock club a couple weeks ago. It was like seeing an old friend again. How could I have ignored it for so long? I just love the easily-remembered pattern, that looks more complicated than it is.

So I have been happily working on it again (what with the plain sock missing in action). I have nearly completed an entire pattern repeat, the last one before starting on the heel.

Unfortuately, this work came with a painful lesson: Never leave your knitting where a toddler can find it. Last weekend, my brother approached me with DPN's in his hand. "Do you know what these are?"

"Yes, those are the spare needles in my knitting bag, right?" I said, the last word filled with weak hope. I ran back to the room where I had left my knitting. There my sock was, laying on the bed without a single needle in it. I suggested that my nephew not sit next to me at dinner. I didn't want to risk an impulse to strangle him.

It really could have been worse. While the little guy did discover that needles are removeable, he didn't realize that pulling on any of the pretty strings would make a bigger mess. I was going to reconstruct the needle arrangment right away, but my sweetie (perhaps wisely) suggested I wait until I was no longer angry about it.

The good news is that the sock is back on the needles. The bad news is that one repeat has an error that I haven't figured out yet. I may just try to knit the next row, and see if that makes it easier to decipher, or at least correct.

My nephew is also fine, and continuing to wreak havoc on grandma's house. Just leave my knitting out of it, kiddo.

Today, it is all about the kid.

Public Debut

My mother-in-law took me shopping for a birthday present. I think my husband tipped her off that in addition to some maternity clothes, I needed a pair of work-appropriate, comfortable, supportive shoes.

So behold, my new shoes! They are so comfy, even if they aren't my usual style. And it is pure coincidence that they are perfect for wearing hand knit socks.

Usually, I wear my socks at home, snuggled on the sofa on cold winter days, because I didn't really have any shoes that would show them off. No more! I am sporting these puppies in public now, and revelling in how cozy my feet feel at the office.

Makes me want to hurry up and knit more socks. I have finished another couple rows on Pomatomus, so I should have them finished by. . . . . mid July or so. Hmmmm, that doesn't sound encouraging.

Today, it is all about the publicity.

FO!

And we have a nursery! Fresh paint, new(ish) carpet, and assembled crib and changing table. And since Sara asked in the comments, the nursery isn't "pink or blue" yet. My sweetie and I are currently in negotiationgs about whether we will find out the sex or not. The carpet is dark green, the car seat, stroller, high chair etc are sage green. The nursery has a unisex "celestial" theme, with suns and moons and stars, mostly in yellow with a little blue sky.

Obligatory knitting content: I have also been plugging away at Pomatomus. Now halfway through the second pattern repeat of the leg (there are three). I better finish this soon. People keep asking me what I am knitting for baby. Um, nothing, this is for me. See? Big person sock.

I obviously need to go stash diving soon and put something for baby on the needles.

Today, it is all about finished objects, even if they aren't knitted.

Return to Sock Club

Safely into the second energy-filled second trimester, I went to Sock Club last Saturday. My first knitting related event since I got pregnant. I sat for two hours and worked on my Pomotomus sock. It was delightful, even if I only knit about an inch. It felt like it took a while to get back into the swing of it.

And since then. . . I haven't knit a stitch. Sigh. I have pulled it out a couple times, but somehow never got around to actually knitting. This is like becoming a member of a gym, but never going there. The sock simply does not magically knit itself, no matter how many times I leave it under my pillow.

In baby news, my sweetie has been hard at work in the nursery. The ceiling and walls are painted, and last night, he was working hard on the new(er) carpeting. My father didn't have the nursery done by my due date (good thing I was two weeks late!), so my sweeties is very ahead of the game. He says he didn't want to risk putting it off til the last minute. I think he is just sick of all the baby stuff stacked in the living room. I don't want to say his mother is a little excited, but she started buying things for the baby in my first trimester. God bless grandmas.

Today, it is all about the nursery, er, I mean sock club.

Happy foot

One Pomatomus down, one to go. Still loving the pattern (most days). I would love to make another, but there are so many other beautiful sock patterns to knit. This one may have to get in line again.

The Seafoam Stripes wrap is screaming right along. I now have a square that is large enough to cover one arm. Something tells me that I have a long way to go. I don't think that the cool weather will wait for me to finish. Maybe next year.

Today, it is all about the miniscule progress.

Shameless

I admit it. Before, I was managing to check the Ravelry waiting list only once a day or two. Now, I see that they have added over a 1,000 names in the last four days. Only 1,320 names in front of mine. I am checking every hour, sometimes more often. I admit it. I just leave that screen open on my computer, and refresh it whenever I think about it. 20 more names entered just in the last hour. At this rate, I will be ravelring in less than a week. Woo Hoo!

This past weekend had noticeable but non-picturable progress on my current WIP's. The Sea Green wrap is very soft, very coxy looking, and long enough to cover one shoulder. And I think I showed admirable restraint in not impaling my husband with a 14-inch metal size 8 needle when he asked if I was almost finished. I also worked more on the foot of the first Pomotomus while I was sitting between bands at the Indy Irish Fest. I was zipping along so nicely that for a while I wondered if I was going to have to start removing shoes to test the legnth on my foot. The muggles just would not have understood the concept.

Today, it is all about the waiting list.

The good news is. . .

. . . .that I am OK. So is the bike. Mostly. Sunday was the local MDA ride. Beautiful weather, 100 miles of country roads, and shiny chrome as far as I eye could see.

It was a safe ride, except for me. I didn't notice an unmarked hairpin curve until it was too late to slow down enough for it. I overshot the turn, and went down. My sweetie didn't even bother with the kickstand or turning his bike off in his haste to make sure that I was ok, and not pinned underneath the bike. (Nice to know that I really do rank above the Harley. I wouldn't have bet the farm on that one.) I was a bit battered and bruised, mostly ego, but otherwise fine. The bike had a few things out of kilter on the handlebars and a few new scratches, but was otherwise fine.

Last Saturday was more fun and less painful. It was the monthly Sock Club thing. I was working on Pomotomus. Please excuse me while I bang my head against the wall every other row. I have just apparently completely forgotten how to knit this pattern. Still halfway through the foot.

For reasons, I can't explain, attending sock club created an insatiable urge to start something new. Something non-sock. It the fault of this light as air, lacy wrap that I saw hanging in the store. It called out to me. So I swung over to the office, just a few blocks away, (doesn't everyone have their LYS conveniently located so close to the office?) and started digging through my stash. Yes, I store my yarn at the office. We don't have room in the house. Accept this premise and move on.

So I shuffled through the plastic containers, and came up with three possibilities, all thin, fuzzy, mohair-y yarns. Without pausing the think or plan, I cast on. I had a vague notion of what I wanted, but was too impatient to practice or swatch. When I started the plain patterning I had in mind, it didn't look like I thought. Not that I bothered to check the book where I remembered seeing the pattern either.

So I backed up, cast on a smaller piece, and started testing a few variations on my mental theme. I think I have the idea mapped out in my mind, and am currently debating whether to practice to whole thing and eyeball it, or just blunder forward and see how it looks. Sorry, it would appear that she can't be taught.

Smackdown

I shouldn't have gloated yesterday. The knitting gods heard me, and smacked me down. I was playing judge in child support court yesterday afternoon, and getting the strangest assortment of cases. Instead of the usual whiny excuses and promises to pay better in the future if I would not throw them in jail, I had an arrogant, unrepentant man who thought it was perfectly acceptable to go months/years without paying anything, then pay large sums just before court, a lazy slacker who has twice applied and been refused disability (at the ripe old age of 28) but maintains he is unable to work no matter what his doctor says, and a bitter man who doesn't pay support on his older three children but saw no problem in fathering a fourth then claiming that he doesn't dispute the child support worksheet, just can't afford it or he would just have to not eat and die, and if I was going to order him to pay that much in child support then he wanted to see his child (as punishment to the mother for pursuing child support to begin with, I presume) and in fact wanted joint custody. I need a beer!

And the worst part, I couldn't even knit! I had brought Pomotomus with me, fully prepared to knit happily in pattern on the half side, stockinette on the other half, finish the foot, decrease the toe, and model my new wonderful sock. That was the plan. Instead, I realized that I had messed up. . . somewhere, and couldn't sit there in uninterrupted silence long enough to figure it out! Augh!

I am in court myself most of the day, and tonight is our usual Thursday night at the American Legion, so figuring it out today doesn't look promising. Maybe if I just leave it alone for a week to pout (the sock pouting, that is, not me) it will right itself and let me finish it.

Today, it is all about the humility.

Only two?

I realized this morning that I only have two active projects in progress. That isn't to say that I don't have several neglected projects in the basket, but I have only been working on two socks lately. Usually, I have the attention span of a gnat, so switch projects regularly. Only two in progress and one in the queue is kind of a record for me.

There is no way that I will publically admit to the flight of fancy that led to this tangled mess, but the good news is that I carefully untangled and balled it. Then decided that was sufficient yarn to make a swatch . (Ok, so I didn't come up with the swatch idea on my own. It is really more of a making lemonade with lemons kind of thing, but I really was concerned about choosing the right yarn for the right project.) The only roadblock: swatching is boring. Practicing, swatching, whatever you want to call it. Boring, boring, boring.

Actual knitting. Fun, fun, fun. Pomotomus. Well on its way to sock glory. Turned the heel, picked up and decreased the gussets. Just a few more inches of patterned knitting til the toe. Then I start over again, but we won't talk about that now. I am too busy basking in my upcoming glory.

And, of course, the mindless ribbed socks for my mother. Mindless knitting is good sometimes, especially when you are subject to interruptions or after a long day at work. Maybe Mom knew what she was doing by not adding anything complicated to my knitting plate. Also finished the heel on this one, and working on the foot.

And so my sweetie isn't left out, the project of the summer has half a head. For months, Indiana has been staring at the sky and doing rain dances, watching our lawns and crops struggle. When he is ready to shingle the roof. . . . it rains. Ok, our lawn thanks you, but he still needs a couple dry days in a row to finish shingling. Please?

Today, it is all about the feet.

MIA

I was MIA from pretty much everything briefly this week. After languishing for weeks on the waiting list, I finally picked up harry Potter #7 from the library. Trying not to be annoyed as I was interrupted by such mundane things as laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, and sleep, I still managed to finish it within a 24 hours period. Really, I was just trying to be considerate to the next person on the waiting list. My sweetie was very understanding and considerate of my single-mindedness.

I even neglected my knitting. Still work on the first Pomotomus sock, just ready to start gussets, which I haven't done in a few years after I learned how to short-row heel. Mom's sock is about ready to start the heel. And I am drooling over possible lace patterns. I found this super thin wool on ebay, about a million yards of it, and I am looking for something to turn it into. I have not decided yet, but I am leaning towards this montrous, intricate shawl. (Whose name eludes me for the moment, and I am in the office so can't check.) When I say that I haven't decided, that really means that I really want to do it and just haven't convinced myself that I am not crazy. Also, I want to make sure that the yarn is right for the pattern, so I am actually SWATCHING. Practicing the pattern, which is surprising not all that complicated, and I want to see how the yarn behanve in washing and blocking. I don't want any surprises. This whole practicing thing is very foreign to me, as usually I just blunder my way forward, too impatient to plan properly. Yes, she can learn.

Today, it is all about the practicing.

Back on track

I finished the toddler sweater. Had some yarn leftover, so I decided to make a hat. Then I was afraid that the hat was too big, so used the final bit of leftover yarn to make a second hat. And gave to the intended toddler the day after her birthday, when we next saw her parents. Everyone ooo'd and ahhh's appropriately, and it appeared that the sweater would be the perfect size for her around the time that it was cold enough to wear it. And I forgot to take a picture. My humble apologies. All permanent record of this adorable sweater set is lost forever. Mea cupla.



I am nearly finished with the gray shawl. Halfway through casting off the few thousand little stitches at the top. A nice stretchy and mindless bind off. I love the way that the yarn drapes and feels. Except. . . . .I screwed up. In my defense the directions mentioned the side border, and head a special section labeled "BORDER", which I thought was the same. Several other triangular shwal patterns I had looked at added the side border at the end, after the body section was complete. So, it was not completely unreasonable for me to think that is what the "border" section was, right? Well, it turned out that the notes for what to add on to the sides were mentioned in the notes of the directions, and the "Border" instructions only covered the top border. That left only one row of little loops instead of three. So I made the adjustment on the top to match the sides, and continued on. EXCEPT. . . . I forgot about the curling nature of stockinette. One row of the border may not be enough to flatten it out. This may block out, but as I have limited experience with blocking (Ok, none), I am not optomistic. The yarn is from Poland, so I have no idea what the content is. Time will tell, I guess, but it makes my first shawl attempt a lukewarm victory.



In other news, I am back on track with the Pomotomus sock. Not only have I worked past the little glitch, but I think I can now recognize an error as it happens and correct as I go. I am really loving this sock, even it it takes a tad more concentration than my previous socks.

My sweetie is out on the bike today. Hooters was hosting a parade of bikes and bikini contest. That sounded like a ride that would be better done with his buddy than with me. I am staying home and knitting. Don't worry dear, I will have dinner ready for you when you are finished gawking at silicon-filled bikinis.

Today it is all about the little victories.

Happy Birthday America!!!

The mid-week celebration of the 4th is somewhat of a bummer. Both of us have to work early tomorrow morning, so staying up late enough for fireworks isn't as easy as it sounds. It doesn't get dark until nearly 10, and then there is the show, and the traffic getting out. . . . 6 am comes pretty early, and my sweetie has to be at work before then. Poor lamb.

I am still stalled on my dove gray shawl and Pomotomus sock. Not that I think the problems are unsolvable. I sure it is just a matter of looking hard at my stitche patterns, count a few times, and make a relatively simple correction. I just haven't sat down to do it yet. I will. I love the Pomotomus sock, and just the other day my sweetie stroked the shawl and commented on how soft it is. (I have a mental picture involving the shawl and. . . . well, the rest doesn't need to be posted for public consumption. We ARE newlyweds. Suffice to say I just came up with new motivation to work on that shawl.)

For now, my solution to these stalled projects. . . is to start something new, of course. I started on the socks for my mother. I was thinking about doing some rear increases up the leg, to custom fit my mom's ankle and calf. Something fancy, but nooooooo. Mom wants plain boring socks with a cuff that can fold down. I tried to convince her of the magic of hand knit socks made to your dimensions, but I am amking what Mom wants. It is a little frustrating that an artist must defer to the purchaser. But I do want Mom to feel comfortable and wear these socks, so I defer. Maybe the next pair.

As a break from itty bitty sock yarn and needles, I also started this: a toddler's sweater. I realized that a friend of ours has a baby turning one at the end of the month. I haven't knit anything for her since she was born. How time sneaks up on you! So I started a sweater, hoping to get it done in time. I had forgotten how quickly size 10 needles moves along. Look at that! Halfway through the body in one night! Still on my first ball of yarn, too. I have 5 (found in the clearance bin), so I will probably have enough to make a second toddler's sweater in the future.

And lest anyone thinks that my sweetie has been slacking. . . The shed is starting to close in on itself. Back siding, and studs on the top triangle near the roof (I am sure that area has some sort of a name), so that can get siding too. He keeps talking about getting the roof plywood "soon", whenever that is.

I just noticed that no one (read: me) has made the bed yet, and I am just itching to fly along more on that little sweater.

Today, it is all about the patriotic birthday.

Bad knitting karma

Ever have one of those days when you were just not meant to knit. The planets align, the stars move in the sky, and you somehow miss the message to ignore all forms of knitting for the day. Still basking in my success of two finished pairs of socks this week (INCLUDING the Kitchnered toe, thank you), I decided to work on some too-long neglected projects, only one of which is a sock. During my lunch hour, I knit a bit on the dove gray hint of lace shawl. It isn't that difficult, just the occassional Yarn Over at the ends and the middle, creating a mostly stockinette shawl. How hard can that be, right? Apparently, hard enough for me, because I stopped halfway through the row, after I realized that I knit my lone stitch marker into the shawl, and have no idea where the center yarn overs are supposed to be. No picture, since I left it at the office, knowing I would be too frustrated to work on it last night.


As we were getting ready to leave for the usual Thursday night at the American Legion, I remembered that I hadn't planned on what to knit. So I quickly grabbed Pomotomus. I hadn't worked on this one in quite a while, even though I am really enjoyed the pattern. Had to scrounge for a pen, and my postie note was so longer sticking so I had to improvise a baby's legos to keep track of which line I was on in the chart, but I was making nice progress without too many snags. Knit a few rows. reposition needles. Knit a few rows. Oh, extra stitch. Make correction. Wait a minute, now I have two extra stiches. Make correction. Ok, back on track. Knit a few rows. What the. . . . ? That would be the time when the wheels fell off the wagon. I can't even blame the alcohol, since I only had one beer. I am not sure where I went wrong, since my sweetie though that when I was counting stitches to try to figure things out was a perfect time to start rattling random numbers in my ear. Fortunately (for him), I can't backhand him in public, and simply put my kntiting away for another day.


So all this leads me to wonder, is it safe for me to knit today?


Meanwhile, my sweetie is progressing nicely on the shed. Cool temperatures and low humidity have him vowing to finish making a roof this weekend.

Today, it is all about the karma curiosity.